


Catch Me

by golden_kimono



Category: Jrock, SCREW (Band), the GazettE
Genre: AU, Crime, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Past Byou/Manabu, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-03 08:23:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4093894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/golden_kimono/pseuds/golden_kimono
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kai has been hired to search for Byou after he ups and leaves with his ex's money. What he finds might not be what he expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Catch Me

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the "Get Kai Some Love!" challenge at the [kai_pleasure](http://kai-pleasure.livejournal.com) community on LJ.

Kai took a sip from his tea as he flipped through the information once more, even though he knew everything off by heart by now. Masahito Kojima, nickname Byou, born on 9 February 1981, former restaurant owner in Shinjuku. Current location: unknown.

Sighing, Kai returned the folder to the glove compartment and rubbed his hands down his face. So far he had never failed a job, but somehow Kojima kept evading him. Every time he followed up on a tip, the other man had already disappeared by the time Kai arrived, leaving behind no traces or witnesses of his departure. It was like chasing a ghost.

He thought back to when he had first accepted the job, figuring it would be an easy one: Kojima’s ex wanted him found, because apparently he had left the break-up taking all his ex’s money. His restaurant had a new owner, who claimed to have no clue where Kojima had gone and said he had never even had face-to-face contact with the other man. Although Kai found this hard to believe, there was no evidence to the contrary.

He had spoken to everyone, from Kojima’s elderly mother, who had begged him with tears in her eyes to please bring back her little boy, to his friends, who seemed as confused as everyone else and said they had never expected him to do such a thing, to his employees, who had mostly appeared uninterested in the matter, not really caring as long as they received their payslip every month.

Now Kai was eight months down the line and wrecking his brain about where the other could possibly be. Kojima left behind no paper trail, and if he had moved the money into a bank account, it must be under a false name. Kai had checked the accounts of near enough everyone his target knew and there had been no suspicious additions there, though of course this didn’t exclude the possibility of an accomplice.

Usually, these were the little jobs, solved within a few weeks, a month, perhaps two. Sometimes he wondered whether Kojima weren’t dead – he kept up to date with morgues and hospitals, but it was always possible that he was missing one, or that the other had fallen into the wrong hands and there was simply no body to recover. But then another tip would arise from somewhere, someone who had spotted Kojima, and Kai would rush off, only for that one person to shrug and say he had already disappeared.

Recently, he had ended up in Seoul, where there had actually been some hope: the hotel employee who had served Kojima had not been alone in seeing him, but several other guests had done so as well and even a supermarket attendant had managed to give Kai a description. However, he had checked out of his room already, and although a lady at the train station was positive she had seen him there, she couldn’t tell Kai where he had gone, and no one else seemed to have a clue either.

It was frustrating, really, but at the same time fascinating. Police forces had been involved – they hadn’t found him. Kai had asked some of his shadier friends for help – apart from the occasional tips he’d receive, nothing. It made him wonder whether Kojima was who he had appeared to be to his loved ones, because a run-of-the-mill restaurant owner couldn’t possibly be this good at evading the law – or those living on the other side of it.

He leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes, tired of the months of hard work that had all added up to nothing. His client was growing impatient by the lack of developments, and Kai worried it would only be a matter of time (very little time at that) before he’d be kicked to the curb, though he doubted his successor would have more luck. There was simply something he was missing. Something they were _all_ missing. But what was it?

A knock on the window made him jump. Kai quickly sat up and looked outside, eyes widening when the person he had been chasing for the past months looked right back at him. He quickly masked his facial expression into a neutral one and rolled down the window.

“Can I help you?” he asked politely, a friendly smile on his face.

Kojima didn’t seem impressed (which was a slight disappointment; Kai’s smile generally opened doors for him). Instead, he glared at Kai intensely and leaned down so he could speak to him more directly.

“I know why you’re here. And as much fun as our little game has been, I’m sick of it now, so why don’t you go back to Manabu and tell him you’re dropping the case. The money’s gone, there’s no point.”

Kai’s first instinct was to lie, but it would be of no use with Kojima clearly knowing what he was up to. His next was to feel embarrassed that he had been caught, though when he thought it over, he narrowed his eyes. This had been a game to him? He had been playing with him this entire time?

“If you knew, why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Kai asked angrily. To his surprise, Kojima smirked.

“I wanted to see if I could outsmart you. Clearly, I could.”

“Look, Kojima-san-”

“Call me Byou.”

Kai clenched his jaw. The last thing he wanted was for this guy to pretend they were on a friendly basis, especially considering everything he had put everyone through. Did he even care that Manabu was in such a large debt he had had to move out of his home? Did he care that his own mother was literally sick with worry about him? Did he care about anything except himself?

“Look, _Byou_ ,” Kai said mockingly, “I’m sure this seems fun to you, but trust me when I say it’s not the same for the people you left behind. Maybe you don’t care about Manabu, but isn’t there anyone you’d want to return to?”

“No.” Byou’s reply was shockingly firm. “It’s better this way. Believe me.”

Kai glanced around and lowered his voice, vaguely concerned. Something in Byou’s voice told him there was more going on than simply a man gone bad. “Do you need help? I could offer you safety if necessary.”

Byou offered him a grim smile. “There’s nothing you can do for me except leave me alone. I intend to flee the country, go further than Seoul this time, but I need to be sure you won’t follow me.”

“Not like I’ve done a very good job of that so far,” Kai said bitterly. “And do you honestly think I’d just let you walk away right now?”

“No, but I thought I’d try anyway.” Byou shrugged. “It’s not really my problem if anything happens to you, just remember that there’s only one of you, and there are many others. I don’t particularly want anyone to get hurt, so this is the only warning I will give you.”

Kai laughed darkly. “Are you threatening me?”

“Warning you,” Byou corrected. “Tell Manabu I’m sorry, but he won’t be seeing that money again. Tell my mother…” He sighed, closing his eyes. “Tell her nothing. Say I’m dead if you need to, it will be safer that way.”

Something more was definitely going on, that much was clear, and it made Kai feel pity towards Byou rather than the anger and frustration he had felt earlier. “It was my job to find you-”

“And you did.”

“-but I also promised I’d bring you home safely,” Kai continued, disregarding Byou’s interruption. “So I will.”

Byou shook his head and straightened up, taking a step back from the car. “Just give up. You’re a private detective, not a superhero. Accept that you can’t help everyone.”

“At least talk to me,” Kai said hastily, getting out of his car. “Explain what’s going on and I’ll leave you be. I won’t even tell anyone.”

Byou gazed at him in disbelief. “Are you stupid? Or do you think _I_ am?”

“I know I’m probably in over my head,” Kai admitted, “and I can accept that. But as long as I know nothing, I won’t- I _can’t_ go home.”

Byou sighed and glanced around, licking his lips before nodding his head and giving a reply Kai hadn’t actually expected. “Fine. Follow me.”

\-----------------------------------

The motel room was small and dark, with curtains closed and a mess of clothes on the floor. Kai hadn’t seen any security, but he had been in the business long enough to know it was there in case things got out of hand. There always was, but they respected their clients’ privacy and stayed out of the way as much as possible.

However, he hadn’t been able to see much else, not with Byou pushing him against the door and kissing him as soon as they stepped inside, which had definitely been a shock. He didn’t know why, didn’t understand, and every fibre of his being told him to resist, though it was difficult to listen with someone as hot as Byou rubbing against him, whispering in his ear how he had admired him from afar for a while, the _true_ reason he had kept up the game for so long.

He wanted to ask _why_ , why _now_ , why _at all_ , but then Byou was on his knees and breathing against his crotch, sliding his hand up Kai’s shirt, scratching down his jean-clad thigh.

Somehow they ended up in bed, Byou arching and panting above him as he rode Kai’s cock, Kai’s hands eagerly exploring Byou’s skin. There had been tension between them as they had taken the short walk to the motel, but he had never expected _this_. To be honest, it wasn’t the first time he had slept with a client or a target, though usually it wasn’t someone quite like Byou.

Kai moaned and shut his eyes, his mouth open. He shouldn’t allow this, he knew, not while he still didn’t know what was going on, not when he had no idea if he could even trust Byou (though when he had murmured this to him when Byou had been tugging off his shirt, Byou had pointed out that he of all people should know no one could ever truly be trusted).

“I thought we were going to talk?” he whispered afterwards, though he hadn’t truly minded that much.

Byou shrugged and stretched his arms over his head from where he was sprawled out besides Kai. “I’ve been waiting a while. And I haven’t had much chance to get laid lately, so, y’know, two birds, one stone, whatever.”

Kai laughed breathlessly. “Fair enough.”

He’d need a rest to be able to have a conversation now, though, and told Byou as much, receiving a small smile in return.

In retrospect, he should’ve known better. Even at the time he knew it was a horrible idea, but Byou had been sexy and seductive, and the stress and lack of progress, plus the shock of finding Byou at last, had caused him to have a severe lack of judgement. So, really, he shouldn’t have been so surprised when Byou pressed a pillow on his face.

\-----------------------------------

Kai was strong. He had followed intensive training in case he’d ever find himself in a situation with no weapon and a need to defend himself regardless. Granted, the chances were slim, but you never knew when danger could pop up. This meant it should’ve been easy for him to push Byou off him, seeing how the other man was much thinner and didn’t have the amount of muscle Kai did. Yet, it hadn’t been.

Not that he thought Byou had fought fairly: after his initial shock, Kai was sure he had heard someone else enter the room, and it had certainly felt like more than one person was holding him down. In his panic, however, he had been unable to figure out how many people there had been precisely.

He was naked when he came to, his clothes neatly folded and placed on a chair beside the TV. Byou was gone.

The question that ran through his mind as he washed himself off was why he had been so stupid, and the answer was simple: Byou had appeared earnest. Yes, he had admitted to taking the money, yet he had also hinted at someone else being behind the entire thing. 

The misery in his eyes had seemed real, and Kai had desperately wanted to help him, save him, which was why he had followed him, in hopes of figuring out what was happening and what he could do. Perhaps he truly had wanted to be a superhero.

It had been a rookie mistake and that, more so than anything else, made him angry. He was experienced, knew not to fall for a sob story, yet here he was, having failed and disappointed himself. He didn’t know why they had let him live, but that was of later worry. First, he needed to get out of here and come up with a game plan.

Upon reaching his car, he found the tires flat and his personal items gone, including his spare phone and his extra gun (the other undoubtedly having been taken by Byou), which had both been hidden in the fabric of the passenger’s seat. Sighing deeply, he opened the glove compartment, blinking in surprise when he found Byou’s file in there. Why had they left it? (After all, upon further examination, they had even gone as far as to take the peppermints he always kept in there).

The file seemed thicker, heavier, and Kai flicked through it curiously, wondering what they had done to it. He gagged when he came across the new pages and nearly dropped the papers on the floor.

Pictures. Not just any pictures, but pictures of Byou – or someone who looked an awful lot like him – covered in blood, his body broken, at the bottom of a ravine. Although Kai knew they couldn’t possibly be real, not when he had seen the other man only so recently, they made him feel sick nonetheless. Because this was undoubtedly a real person, or had been, at least.

The next pages consisted of a police and a coroner’s report, showing that an unknown man without identification had been found after a brutal fall. There were no signs of foul play, and due to the tricky terrain it was assumed he had simply slipped and fallen to his death. Unfortunate, of course, but nothing more than that.

Was this why he had been kept alive, so he could share the news that searching for Byou was useless? After all, the case had reached its end now: Byou was gone. He could hand over the photos and the reports to Manabu, who could contact the police and let them know that Masahito Kojima was no more. Perhaps Manabu and Byou’s mother could even go see the body, if it hadn’t been cremated yet, confirm that it was indeed him.

_“Say I’m dead if you need to, it will be safer that way.”_

Kai clenched his jaw and closed the file. He might be an idiot, but he refused to give up, especially now. The “sorry” Byou had whispered as he had placed the pillow on him was enough to make Kai believe that the other man was involved in something he didn’t want to be. He didn’t need to be a superhero; he just had to make sure that next time he wouldn’t be on his own.


End file.
